Chapter 382: Retaking Cordoba (2/2)
”Though this is indeed a great victory until reinforcements arrive from Austria, we will not be able to hold the city. We have been defending our borders for some time, but our enemies' numbers grow each day while our forces dwindle.
If we stay here, we will be cut off from supplies, and reinforcements, forced to defend the city until our last dying breath. I suggest after taking the town and annihilating the enemy, we abandon Cordoba and begin a guerilla campaign until the Austrian Expeditionary Force arrives.”
General Ziyad Ibn Ya'is nodded his head in agreement with Arnulf's words and quickly spoke up in his defense.
”I agree with General Arnulf; we simply cannot defend our borders as our enemies continue to outnumber us. Nor can we hold the city of Cordoba; we must massacre the enemy forces here and make a swift retreat.
I will take most of the army and hold the line within our borders; Arnulf should follow his plan and lead the Granadan Royal Guard on a guerrilla campaign to slow down the enemy's advance. After all, the Royal Guard is well trained in riding and is equipped with the best weapons. It would make the most sense to use them for this operation.”
After hearing his general approve of Arnulf's plan, Hasan smiled and nodded his head in agreement. If this were a proposal that both men agreed upon, then he would heed their advice. As such, he clasped both men on the shoulders as he gave his consent to carry out such an operation.
”Very well, I shall leave this war in your capable hands; when this battle is over, I will return to Granada. I look forward to seeing the results of your campaign!”
As the Sultan said these words, the banners of Granada were raised above the city walls, and the bloodcurdling screams of battle came to an end; in its place, loud cheers echoed in the distance, signaling the Moorish victory. For the first time in centuries, Cordoba, the Jewel of Al-Andalus, was returned to the hands of its Moorish masters.
Though the celebration would be brief, as Hasan and the other officers in his attache descended into the city and witnessed the bloodshed that had occurred, corpses of both sides littered the city's streets. Blood formed a small river as it flowed throughout the city.
Eventually, Hasan took an advantageous position within the city and began to speak to his troops about their victory, and the plans settled only a few moments prior.
”Men! Today is a great day for the Emirate of Granada. We have retaken the Jewel of our people! However, we do not have the means to hold it, so we must abandon it! We will bury our dead and return to our borders to defend the heartland of Granada against those who would seek to destroy us.
While this is going on, the Grandan Royal Guard shall be led by our allies from Austria, who will undergo a campaign to slow down our enemies' advance and weaken their resolve! Glory to Granada! Glory to Al-Andalus!”
As Hasan said these words, the crowd of battle-hardened soldiers dressed in mirror pattern armor began to chant back his final words. In doing so, securing their victory. After finishing their gathering, the Granadan soldiers executed all of the Iberian soldiers who had surrendered before burying their own fallen warriors.
After these actions were completed, they ransacked the city for its supplies and headed off in the opposite direction back to their homeland. After making it to the halfway marker, the Granadan Royal Guard followed Arnulf and his attache on a separate path. Henceforth, until a time when the Austrian Expeditionary Force could arrive, He and his small army of elite soldiers would harass the Iberian Union worse than a colony of fleas living on a dog's back.
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